The Revenge
by TeknoKat
Summary: David get's out of being a nothlit. Now the Animorphs are in trouble.


The Revenge  
  
David...  
  
I cried hoarsely into the wind.   
I was a rat! A rat! I was stuck as a rat! I was to never be human again! A RAT!  
  
That was all I could say. No one knew I was here. Except the Animorphs.   
I couldn't believe that I would live the rest of my life as a rodent. A rat!  
  
Suddenly I stopped crying out. I laughed insanely to myself.  
I knew that I was no longer sane. I didn't care. I revelled in my insanity.  
Insanity and revenge. The two things I knew.  
Insanity of what I was.  
And revenge to the Animorphs.  
I laughed to myself. An insane, evil laugh. I loved it!  
  
I would one day kill the Animorphs.  
I grinned inside my head.   
To see the Animorphs, bloody heaps all around me. All of them still, not breathing, no heartbeat.  
Death to the Animorphs!  
  
I lived as a rat. I don't know how long. A rat doesn't care about the days.   
All the rat knew was fear and hunger. Maybe meager curiosity now and then, but mostly fear and hunger.  
  
Even while I ate, I cried out that word. I cried out that word when I fought other rats. I cried out that word when I was attacked by hungry seagulls or anything else looking to make a meal out of me.  
  
I was munching on a small seed when I looked at the other rats. None of them were moving.  
That's when I realized that I was human.  
  
Human! I was human! Fingers! Toes! I was human!  
I looked around. I was still on the island, but nothing was moving. The waves weren't moving, neither was the grass. No wind blew. It was deathly quiet.  
Suddenly an image formed in front of me.   
It was an eye. A machine. It was part eye, part machine.  
it said.  
"W-who are you? What are you?" I looked at it fearfully.  
_  
Crayak. What the hell was that?   
"What do you want?" I asked. I was scared enough to pee my pants, but at least I sounded brave.  
  
I grinned wickedly. "The death of the Animorphs. That and being human." I could feel the insanity boiling inside me. I began to laugh.  
I stopped laughing. I still had the grin on my face. __  
The thing looked and felt so evil. I liked it. "Yes," I hissed. "Yes!" I thought a second. Or sort of thought. "You want something in return. Things like this are never free."  
The eye pierced my gaze.   
"And what are they?"  
  
I frowned. "I can't kill Rachel? Maaan." I frowned, then smiled. "But at least I can kill Jake." I began to laugh again.  
The eye seemed to blink. But it didn't. It was like a darkening over the eye.    
Suddenly I found myself on the mainland.  Then, just as suddenly as the Crayak came, it disappeared. Time resumed.  
It was time to kill the Animorphs.  
  
Jake...  
  
I was a tiger. I was in the woods. In the forest, thick with leaves. Humid. Warm.  
Suddenly I was no longer in the woods. I was on a plain. A savanna. Africa.  
I sniffed. Prey animals nearby. Predators.  
I looked. I could see zebra, giraffes. Wildebeests. Different prey animals than what I knew.  
Then I sniffed something that made my hackled rise.  
It was a lion.  
I growled deep in my throat. I bared my teeth.  
The lion showed himself. It was a large male. It's mane was full and a dark brown.   
I was a Siberian tiger. Bigger. Heavier.   
I knew I was going to lose.  
RRROOOAAAAAARRRRRR!! I roared at him. The prey animals fled in fear.  
The lion stood there.  
He drew back his own muzzle, showing his long canines.   
I took a step towards him. He growled deep in his throat. Then he jumped at me.  
He was quick. Cat quick. But I too, was a cat. I jumped at him, trying to get to his throat.  
He jumped at me, trying to reach my own exposed throat.   
He swiped his clawed, drawing long gashes down my muzzle. I return the wound with four deep lines down his flank.  
He pushed at me, and I fell to my back.   
I couldn't move. I was frozen.   
He dove for my throat.  
The blood gushed...  
  
I woke up suddenly. A dream.   
I blinked my eyes, and rolled over.  
My clock said three-thirty. I sighed softly and rolled onto my back.  
I looked around my room.  
I hadn't had that intense of a dream for quite some time. I was slightly scared. I knew that the lion in my dream was David.   
A slight noise!   
I sat up in my bed. I could still hear the noise. It was a low rumbling.  
Something detached itself from the shadows of my room.  
A lion!   
I shook my head. Was I still dreaming?  
The lion showed his teeth. The growl deepened.  
"David!" I whispered.  
The lion jumped at me!  
Roaring pain on my side! On my arm! On my leg!   
  
I cried out in pain, then darkness surrounded me.   
  
Marco...  
  
It was mid-morning. I was sitting on the couch, flipping through the channels.  
It was a Saturday, so I didn't have to worry about school.   
I stopped on the news. I shrugged my shoulders. Nothing else was on.  
The newsman was on location at someone's house. One of the windows was broken out.  
That looks like Jake's house, I thought to myself.  
I listened to what the anchorman had to say.  
"There seems to be some sort of large cat on the loose. It attacked a young man last night, leaving him in shreds. The boy is alive and at Hackly Hospital. They do not know if he will live." The anchorman turned to a woman standing beside him. It was Jake's mother.   
"This is the mother of the young boy. Tell us of what you saw ma'am."  
"Well," Jake's mom wrung her fingers on her shirt. "Well I heard a scream from my son's room, and naturally I went to look. I walk in to find what looked like, I swear, a lion standing over him. My boy was in tatters!" She began to cry. "Then he jumped out the window, breaking it as it were nothing."  
"Oh my God," I said softly to myself. I kept watching.  
"The boys name was Jake ______. Again, they do not know if he will live. Be wary people. There is a cat, a rather large cat, on the loose in our city. This is Henry Johnson signing off."  
I turned off the T.V. I could barely believe what I had heard.  
Jake was lying near death in the hospital with wounds from a large cat. A lion Jake's mother had said. I knew only one lion that could or would do that to Jake. And it wasn't even a true lion.   
It was David.   
"But it can't be David," I said to myself. "He is stuck in morph on a island as a rat. Unless.." I really didn't want to think of how he could have gotten out of morph.   
My dad walked in. "Hiya Dad. I am going over to Jake's okay?"  
"Sure, sure. Be home before it gets dark though." He looked at me with mock seriousness. I smiled.  
"See you later." I ran out the door.  
I wasn't really going over to Jake's. I was going over to Cassie's. See if she knew about it yet.  
Probably not, I reasoned. She would have called me. She would have told me as soon as she found out.  
I raced on my bike over to Cassie's.  
  
Cassie...  
  
I was mucking out the stables. Not exactly the funnest thing to do. But I could have been doing worse. I think.  
I was shovelling manure when I heard a bike screech to a halt outside the barn. I smiled, thinking it was Jake.  
It wasn't. It was Marco.  
He had a panicked look on his face. His eyes were wide, and his face was pale. I looked at him.  
"What's wrong?" I asked him.  
"Jake's in the hospital," he gasped. He leaned against a bale of hay, trying to catch his breath.  
"What? What do you mean Jake's in the hospital?"   
"He was attacked last night by a lion. In his bed." He looked at me. He stood up straight. "The lion tore him apart. He's alive. Barely. I saw it on the news this morning." He sighed. There were tears in his eyes. "I think we both know who that lion was."  
"Who?" I asked. Then it struck me. My eyes narrowed. "David? But how?"  
Marco shrugged. "All I know is that he made hamburger out of Jake. He is on the loose. In fact, he is probably here right now, listening to us." He glanced around. "And if he is here right now, I have this to say. I will kill you David. No nice Animorphs this time. This time we go for the kill."   
I shuddered at the rage in Marco's eyes. I sighed, and realized that there were tears in my eyes too. "We can't just kill him," I said softly.  
"Oh yes we can. If we trap him in morph, he will just get out again. I think I know how he got out this time. Do you?"  
I shook my head. "No." I put down the shovel.  
"Crayak. That or the Ellimist. And I really don't think that it would be the Ellimist. It's not his style. And I don't think he would want to be rid of us just like that. At least I don't hope so." He shook his head.  
"Does Rachel know?" I asked.   
Marco shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know." He sat down on the bale of hay. "You do realize that he going to try to kill us all?"  
I nodded my head slowly. "This is going to be hard. We don't know where, or what he is right now. For all we know he is a flea on my head. Or a fly, or even one of our horses." I sighed again. "This isn't fair," I muttered.  
Marco stood up again. "Well I suppose we had better find out if Rachel knows," he said softly. "Because she is the leader now."  
I sighed. "Okay. I'll call her. I think she will know though, since they are cousins. I just hope that Jake is going to be okay."  
I walked out of the barn, to my house to call Rachel.  
  
Rachel...  
  
I was in the hospital. I had found out earlier that Jake was in the hospital. I found out that he had been attacked by a large cat. A lion it was said.   
David. Or at least I thought it was David. It was the only explanation. Though how he had gotten out of being a nothlit I didn't know.  
I was sitting in the waiting room of the hospital. I would be able to go see Jake in a few minutes.  
I didn't know if I wanted to.  
I was worried about him. They didn't know if he was going to live. They said that his injuries were very severe. Deadly.  
I looked up to the sound of footsteps.  
The doctor was walking towards me. He had that solemn doctors' look on his face.  
He stopped in front of me.  
"Are you Rachel ______?"  
"Yeah."  
"Come with me please." He helped me out of the seat, and I followed him into Jake's hospital room  
I nearly broke out in tears.  
He was connected to various tubes, and other things. His whole body was swabbed and wrapped in bandages. He was lying very still, his face very pale. Too pale. He barely seemed to breath. He had a respirator in there in case. The heart monitor was making beeping sounds to his heart beat. They seemed so slow.  
"Oh my God," I said softly. I walked up to his bedside, and knelt before it.  
His parents were in the room. His mother was in tears, and my uncle was holding her. Tom wasn't in there, but I wasn't surprised about that. He's one of them.   
My mom wasn't in there either. She had dropped me off, saying that she didn't want to see Jake like that. Now I agreed with her.  
I almost cried. I mean, my cousin was in the hospital, near death. He looked horrible. Not like the leader of the Animorphs. He looked frail.   
I didn't know what to do. I knew that while Jake was like this, I would be the leader of the Animorphs.   
But what I was afraid of it being permanent.   
I took Jake's hand. I held it, holding back my tears.   
I heard the doctor stand beside me.   
"As I said earlier, we must keep him under close observation. We do not know if he will pull through or not. He sustained critical lacerations on his arms, legs, and torso. Also, he may have internal bleeding. He is in a state of minor shock. Only he can pull himself out of this," said the doctor.   
He patted me on the shoulder, and walked out of the room  
I felt a boiling anger inside me. Seeing Jake like this, helpless, frail.   
I kept the anger at bay for the moment.  
I would need it when I went to kill David.  
  
David...  
  
I was having a ball. I was a bit unhappy that I hadn't been able to kill Jake outright, but that was okay. He would probably die in the hospital.   
If only his mother hadn't of interrupted. I knew that I should have probably killed her, but the Crayak never said anything about killing his family, so I wasn't going to take the chance.  
I was so fun hearing Jake's screams.   
I could picture him trying to beat me off him, then fall limp. It felt so good.  
I laughed evilly, and ignored the people staring at me as I walked down the street.   
I thought about who I was going to try and kill next. Marco? Cassie? Ax? Tobias?   
I grinned insanely to myself. Who should I kill?  
Which Animorph would be the first to die?  
  
Marco...  
  
It was evening. Me, Cassie, Tobias, and Ax had gone to see Jake. We had stayed for awhile, crying, raging, and making threats. Then we had left.  
I felt helpless. Nothing seemed funny at the moment. My best friend was in the hospital.  
There was one good thing. Jake was still alive. Still fighting. The doctors had said that if he had made it this far, the more of a chance he would have of surviving.  
I was sitting at my house, staring at a blank TV screen. My dad was gone, out on a date. He wouldn't be back for quite some time.  
I just sat there. Thinking of what I was going to do to David.   
I sat there, staring into space.  
I must have spaced out, because the next thing I knew it was almost nine o'clock.   
I shook my head, and closed my eyes. I opened them.  
And jumped.  
There, standing in front of me, was David.   
David with a baseball bat. David, looking about eighteen years old.  
"Man, this is so deja vu," I sneered. "You are dead." I began to stand up.  
David grinned insanely. "You are so not funny Marco."  
He swung the bat, hitting me in the head. I had no time to duck.  
I was unconscious before I hit the ground.  
  
Rachel...  
  
I was at home. I was sitting on my bed, thinking of Jake.   
Suddenly the phone rang. I picked it up.  
"Rachel?" Marco's voice.  
"What do you want Marco?" I asked, my voice tense.  
"Come over. We need to talk."  
"Why?" For some reason I felt suspicious.  
"About Jake. About what we are going to do." He sounded so truthful. So Marco. But I found it funny, no jokes. No glibs.  
I sighed. "I'll be there in a few minutes."  
"Oh, and Rachel, walk. My dad might be home anytime from his date."  
"Okay." I hung up the phone before either of us could say goodbye.   
For some reason it sounded so final.  
So deadly.  
  
I was at Marco's doorstep. Not in morph mind you.   
I knocked on the door. Marco opened it, smiling.  
"Come on in," he said. It sounded sinister.  
I walked in.   
That's when I heard from the kitchen, "Rachel run! It's David!"  
Marco/David frowned. "Shit. Should have gagged him," he muttered. "Oh well," he said.   
He grabbed my arm, and pulled me into the house.  
I didn't see his fist until he hit me in the face.  
Blackness...  
  
I woke up. I realized four things.  
One, I was tied up. Hand to hand, foot to foot. I was tied to spread out, so that I couldn't double up. I couldn't move.  
Second, I was mainly naked. I had only on my bra and underwear.  
Third, I was in the kitchen.  
Fourth, David was standing over me, grinning evilly.  
I sneered at him.  
"Having fun Rachel?" he asked. He laughed insanely.  
I looked around.   
I saw Marco, hanging by his arms from the ceiling. He was wide awake. His eyes were narrowed in rage. He was gagged. He was also only in his underwear. I felt embarrassed for a moment.   
David walked over to Marco, and pulled off his gag. Marco said nothing, just glared at him. Then he looked at me.  
"No matter what he does Rachel, do not give him what he wants!" David whirled around and punched him in the stomach. I could hear the air rush from his lungs, and see him trying to double up.  
"Shut up!" he yelled. He punched Marco again.   
He smiled at me, then began to go through the kitchen drawers. Then he stopped, and pulled out a long knife. He looked at me.   
"I will get whatever I want," he said. "Anything I want. You know, I wasn't going to demand anything, but then I thought of something." He bent down in front of me, knife caressing my cheek. "I want the blue box. I want it, or you get to see not-so-funny Marco get cut to ribbons." He grinned.  
"Don't do it Rachel!" He screamed. "No matter what he does!"  
David grimaced, and stood up and walked to Marco. "I told you to shut up!" He brought the knife up and sliced Marco's side.   
Marco straightened in pain, but didn't yell.   
"Leave him alone!" I yelled. He just grinned, and cut Marco again. This time on the chest.   
Marco looked at David, sucking in breath between his teeth with pain. "Is that the best you can do, Rat-boy?" he sneered. He looked at me, and shook his head. "Don't give him the blue box Rachel. Xena, Warrior-Princess. Let him do whatever he is going to do. Just don't give him the blue box." He said it so calmly. Almost like he wasn't in pain.  
I winced. I knew that I couldn't give him the blue box. But Marco was going to hang there, and get sliced by David. But I couldn't. I wouldn't.   
I sighed, and tried to keep from crying. I looked at Marco. I saw the pleading look in his eyes. Not to free him, but to not give him the blue box. Not to give him anything he wanted. I nodded slightly.   
Marco smiled. Actually smiled. He looked at David. "You know, hanging like this is so going to help my biceps."  
David growl. "Make jokes while you can Marco." Then he began to torture Marco.  
He cut Marco again and again.   
I couldn't watch. I screwed my eyes shut. I couldn't watch as one of my friends was tortured.   
Marco only screamed when the slice was especially painful, or deep. In a way, I was proud of him. I sort of looked at Marco in a new light.   
Even while he was being cut up, he was making jokes. Provoking David. Even making me smile weakly a couple of times.   
Every once in a while, David would walk over, and force my eyes open. Make me see Marco, raw wounds all over him. Bleeding cuts, and gashes.  
The floor was puddled with blood. Marco had lost a lot of blood. He was beginning to look pale. He was talking less and less.   
He was dying. Slowly, but surely, he was dying.  
David forced my eyes opened again.   
"Look Rachel. Marco isn't so glib any more. Isn't he better this way?" David grinned. I shuddered slightly.  
Marco was very pale. His breathing was ragged. He shuddered slightly, and his face scrunched up in pain. His body was one massive wound. He was cut so many times I couldn't count them all. He was almost literally running blood. The pool of blood on the floor was so large that it was almost touching me.   
Marco looked at me. He smiled faintly. His eyes were bright, surprisingly. But were the bright from pain, or what? I didn't know. He mouthed, "Thanks."  
I nodded my head. Not that I would give David anything he wanted anyway.   
Marco smiled again. I was surprise that he wasn't unconscious. Or screaming and yelling for mercy. Or just screaming for that matter.   
I smiled faintly back at him. Then I sneered at David.   
"Oooh, scary Rachel. Not. You know, you are so much more fun when you are tied up. Or maybe not. Maybe I'll find out." He grinned.   
He was insane. I had known that earlier, but it sunk in now. Insane enough to do just about anything.  
"Why don't you untie me then," I said sweetly. "Maybe you'll find out just how fun I am." I batted my eyes.  
David laughed. "Nice try. Maybe later Rachel. Right now, little Marco needs my help." He laughed. "Hee-hee-hee! Hahahahaha! I should have done this the first time I met you guys!"  
I rolled my eyes. "You weren't smart enough then. Of course you aren't now. Now you are insane."  
David eyes widened. "Yep! And I LOVE it!" He laughed again.   
I looked at Marco. "Morph," I mouthed.   
I saw the doubt in his eyes. "What?" he mouthed back.  
I thought a moment. I glanced at David. He was still laughed. I shook my head slightly. "Fly," I mouthed.   
Marco nodded his head.   
David stopped laughing. He walked over to Marco, bloody knife in front of him. "Time to die little Marco." He grinned maliciously, and drove the knife into Marco's stomach.  
"Aaaaaaaah!" Marco screamed. He doubled up as best he could.  
David twisted the knife, making Marco scream more.  
I screwed my eyes shut. But I couldn't close my ears. I couldn't do anything.   
But I could do something.  
I could morph.  
  
Marco...  
  
The pain was unbearable! The gashes, and cuts that David had done were nothing compared to this!  
"Aaaaaah!" I screamed.   
David pulled out the knife. "Poor little Marco. Not making stupid jokes now are we?" He grinned again.   
I scrunched my eyes closed from the pain. Then I opened them.   
I could see something out of the corner of my eye.  
Rachel! She was growing!   
Could David see?   
No, his back was turned. He couldn't see Rachel.   
The pain! I had to keep David's attention.  
"You wuss," I said, gritting my teeth from the pain. I would much rather have been screaming from the pain than talking. "Is that the best you can do? Can't even hit a vital organ."  
Had to keep him busy. Even if I died, Rachel could take him down. Then it would be worth it.   
"Or, I don't want to kill you yet Marco. It's no fun that way. Jake passed way to early. I should have dragged him out the window with me. Killed him slowly. But no, now he is on the hospital. He'll probably die anyway, but where is the fun in watching him die in the hospital." His eyes brightened.   
I smiled very faintly. Good, I had David's attention. He was busy talking.  
"I know. I'll go to the hospital after I am done with you. And Rachel. Kill him there. Not as fun, but hey, at least I'll finish the job!" He laughed. His eyes narrowed, and glittered dangerously. "But first I have to get the blue box."   
I could see Rachel. She was grey, and still growing. Elephant.   
SNAP! The ropes holding Rachel snapped.  
David glanced behind him. "Shit!" His eyes narrowed, and he looked at the knife. He looked at me. "Die!" he screamed at me.   
He plunged the knife into my chest.  
  
Rachel...  
  
I saw him plunge the knife into Marco's chest. Saw Marco stiffen. Saw him sag limply.   
Probably dead.  
I yelled. I was mostly African elephant. The largest land animal.   
The room was to small for me. My head was scraping the ceiling. I could reach out my truck a ways and touch the other wall.   
__ I screamed at David. I picked him up in my trunk.   
He yelled, and slashed my trunk with the knife. It hurt, but I didn't care. I began to squeeze.  
I looked at Marco. My elephant eyes widened. He was breathing. Slowly, and weakly. He wasn't dead!  
I yelled at him. He was unconscious.  He didn't even twitch.   
I threw David into the wall. He slammed against it, and fell limply to the ground. I could only hope that he landed on the knife.  
I reached out my trunk, and snapped the rope holding Marco. Then I carefully held him, and demorphed slowly.   
I shook him gently.   
He was breathing so slowly. So raggedly. So weakly. I could feel his heart beating. Very faintly beating. And slowing.  
I realized I was crying.  I set him gently on the ground, and demorphed the rest of the way.  
I had never gotten along with Marco. He was my friend, but not as close as say Cassie and Tobias. In fact, I realized, that he was about as close in friendship as Ax. Maybe farther.  
I felt like dirt.  
And now here he was, dying. In front of me.   
He had perhaps given his life for me. So that I could morph. So that I could get David.  
I kneeled down in front of Marco. He was cut up so badly that there didn't seem to be a part of him that wasn't. He was still bleeding.   
"Marco. Please wake up. Don't die on me!" I looked at David. He was moving. Waking up.  
Suddenly he stood up. He was shaking with fury. He still had the knife. He was holding his stomach.   
So he had landed on the knife. Point up. But it hadn't killed him.  
Damn.  
"I am going to get you. But not now. Later. Yes, later!" He laughed insanely. Then he ran past me, through the living room and out the door. Still laughing.  
I was shaking with rage, and fear.   
I looked back at Marco. His eyes flickered open. He smiled. Actually smiled!  
"Remind me not to make you mad, Xena," he said so faintly I barely heard him.  
"Marco, you have to morph! Now!"  
His smiled faded and then was gone. "I don't know if I can." He closed his eyes.  
"You have to," I said urgently.   
"I'll try," he said. I couldn't hear him, but saw his shape the words.   
He slowly, so slowly, began to change. His skin became black, and grew shaggy fur. Muscles began to grow, and grow. His face puffed out, and grew rubbery. So did his chest. His stomach bulged out.  
He became a gorilla.  
When he was finished, he opened his eyes. He sat up slowly, and sighed.  
__ he said. He looked at the blood on the floor and shuddered.   
"Yea." I wiped away the tears on my face. "I am so sorry," I said. I had reason to be.  
He asked. He looked at me, and began to demorph.  
"Because. You had to go through all that. All I did was sit there, with my eyes closed." I sighed.  
I swear he smiled.  He changed from thought-speak to normal speech. He sighed, and rubbed his stomach. "That hurt." He shrugged, and looked around the room. "Man we need to clean this up. Now. Before my dad gets home."   
I nodded my head. There was blood all over the floor. "Where are the mops?" I asked.   
"Over there," he pointed vaguely at a closet.  
I walked over to the closet, and took out two mops. And a bucket. I filled the bucket with water, and soap.   
We began to mop up the blood. Marco's blood. Every few minutes we had to change the water.   
Suddenly Marco stood up straight. "Someone has to get to the hospital! David said that he was going to go kill Jake!"  
I ran over to his phone. "I'll call Cassie. She will be able to for a little while. Tobias and Ax will have to do it most of the time," I said as I dialled Cassie.  
  
David...  
  
Damn! Damn, damn, and damn again!   
I was sitting a nearby fringe of woods. I had morphed, then demorphed. Whole once again.  
Damn!   
I didn't know if Marco was dead. Probably. But I hadn't hit his heart. I had missed.   
Rachel!   
Oh, I wished I could kill her. It would be so fun. So deadly.   
But the Crayak said that I couldn't kill her. But he never said that I couldn't hurt her.   
I grinned to myself, them my grin faded.  
Who should I go after?   
Jake? I didn't know if he was dead either. Maybe. In a way, I hoped he wasn't. That way I could kill him. Yes!  
But he was in the hospital. And I had told Marco, and surely Rachel had heard me, that I was going there to kill him. To finish him off.  
Maybe I should.   
They would send someone to watch him. Make sure that I didn't kill him.  
Yeees!  
But who would they send? Ax? Cassie? Tobias? Perhaps Rachel or Marco would go. Marco, that is, if he was still alive.  
Hide, then kill.   
Kill!  
  
Tobias...  
  
I was asleep in my tree. Dreaming.   
  
I started awake.   
  
  
I said, stretching my wings and fluffing my feathers.   
Suddenly an owl landed next to me.   
I jumped.  I said. Owls are perfect night hunters. Silent, and deadly. And they sometimes eat falcons and small hawks.   
I jumped off my tree, and flapped into the air. It's kinda far to the hospital. A hard flight for me.   
Ax followed me. __  
I sighed.   
__ Ax didn't sound happy. Not that I was either.   
In fact I was afraid. David could be anywhere. Anything.   
We didn't say a word the rest of the way to the hospital.   
Jake had a room about mid way up the building. Trees were scattered around, along with bushes. A small cluster of trees were near Jake's room.  
_ I said. I scanned the skies for him. Not that I could see really.  
Night in not made for hawks.   
_ said Ax. He could see like it was day. See just about anything that moved.  
I looked cautiously at the small grove of trees. I had a bad feeling about it.  
I flew through the space between the trees and building.  
A movement.  
A golden eagle! Flying at me!   
To late to dodge. To fast!  
He struck, talons out. My wing crumpled, broken.   
  
I could feel deadly talons pierce my bird body.   
Suddenly I was slammed against the building.  
I fell to the ground, into darkness.  
  
Ax...  
  
I yelled. He was falling to the ground. There was no answer.  
David yelled.   
I had one advantage over David. My sight. He was bigger and faster than me, but I could see.   
I looked up at the sky. I could see Cassie's owl form easily.   
I smiled in my head. David did not have a chance. Prince Jake could be avenged.  
I watched as Cassie dive, and hit David in his back.  
David yelled.   
__ said Cassie calmly.  
He screamed. He tried to turn around to get at Cassie.  
I came up beneath him and struck him hard.   
He flew towards the building, and slammed me against it.   
I fluttered weakly, and regained some height. I dove at David again, going for his head.   
I missed! He turned just as I was going to strike!  
Cassie yelled. Her talons were coming loose. Suddenly she broke off, and fell towards the ground. She quickly flapped her wings, and soared and landed in a nearby tree.  
David seemed to shake in mid air. __ he said. __ He turned away from the hospital, and Prince Jake, and flew into the darkness.  
Me and Cassie could both see him clearly. Easily. We watched him until we could no longer see him.  
Cassie yelled suddenly. She dove at the ground an immediately began to demorph.  
I could see her clearly, but I had to watch for David. I couldn't go down and see if my shorm was alive.   
  
Cassie stood up. In her arms was a limp body. Tobias's body.   
She paused. I could see her smile weakly. "Yes! He's alive!"  
I yelled at Tobias's unconscious form.  
Then, as if on cue, he opened his eyes. He immediately puffed up his feathers. Then he relaxed and groaned in pain.   
he grumbled. He began to morph to human.  He morphed his human form. He looked at Cassie. "Thanks," he said. "Geez, that guy is nuts." He shook his head.  
I was happy that Tobias was okay. David was a formidable opponent. Even more so sense he was obviously insane.  
  
She nodded her head, looking thoughtful. "Yeah. I went over there to get the story. I guess David came over, knocked Marco unconscious, morphed him, and called Rachel. Then he took Rachel, and tied both of them up. I guess he tortured Marco, trying to get Rachel to give him the blue box. Marco told not to, and let him do whatever to him. David did. Eventually David got tired of it, and Rachel morphed elephant. Basically, David stabbed Marco, and Rachel threw him into a wall. He woke up, and ran out of there. He told Marco that he was going to go after Jake and finish the job."  
I sighed.  I asked.  
Cassie nodded her head. "Yeah. Marco was nearly killed, but he's okay. David did absolutely nothing to Rachel."  
"Good," said Tobias. "This is pathetic," he said angrily. "We are being beaten by some puny kid that was a rat that I could have eaten." He shook his head.  
"He isn't so puny any more, at least that's what Marco told me," said Cassie, shaking her head.  
"What?"  
"Marco said that he looked older. About eighteen. And most definitely insane."  
I was unsure. I had gone over this. The only thing that I could think of was the Ellimist. Or the Crayak. I didn't think it was the Ellimist.   
"Well Marco says in was probably the Crayak. Why, we don't know. Probably revenge." Cassie was now pacing back and forth. "We have to find a way to deal with him."  
I said.   
  
Cassie...  
  
I was watching Jake's room. He was still in a coma. But he hadn't died yet. The doctors thought he would live. We all hoped so.  
David. That was the key to all this.  
He had tried to kill three of us now. Each time had been unsuccessful. So far.  
It was only so long we could hold out. Only so long before one of us was killed.   
We needed Jake.   
I sighed. I had been watching Jake's room for over an hour. Tobias was outside, keeping watch. Ax was in the woods, feeding.  
Two of us at a time were keeping watch over Jake. We couldn't let David kill him.  
We couldn't let him kill any of us.  
How much longer would we have to worry? How much longer would we have to worry about David? How much longer? How much longer before one of us was killed? How much longer until David was killed? That is, if we could kill him at all.  
Each time he had been able to squirm out of our grasp. Each time he left alive.  
We had to keep fighting. We couldn't worry about the Yeerks right now. David was a bigger problem.  
What would it take to kill David?  
To keep us alive?  
  
Jake...  
  
I was gone. There was no me. Nothing.  
I was in a shrouded mist. Nothing to tell me that I was me. That I was living.   
There were no dreams. No memories. Nothing.   
My world was made of nothing.  
Then, it was as if some light was peeking through.   
A thought.   
David.   
I had to be alive. Had to be alive to kill him. Before he killed me.   
Or the others.  
I had to wake up...  
  
Ax...  
  
I was feeding. It was a nice place. Plenty of green grass. Even a small stream.  
I dipped my hoof into the stream.   
I laid down. I closed my main eyes, and let my eye stalks watch out for any danger.  
I was worried for the others. Not so much for myself. I could easily take care of David.   
Prince Jake was alive. That was a plus. A small plus.   
Everyone so far was alive. For how long that would last, I didn't know.  
David was a problem that needed to be corrected.  
I stood up.   
Suddenly I had a bad feeling. Some sixth sense.   
My stalk eyes waved wildly, looking for danger. From the woods.   
My main eyes was scanning the grass. My tail was cocked and ready, arched high over my back.  
I called out. I really didn't know if he was here. It was a guess.  
No answer. Perhaps I was wrong. I did not know. I still had the bad feeling.   
I had a sudden urge to look down at my feet.   
David said evilly.  
He was a snake. Not a rattlesnake. A black snake.   
Before I could even move my tail, he struck!   
I yelled. The pain in my leg was intense!   
I tried to bring my tail down, but he struck again. This time in my side.  
David laughed. He struck me again.  
I yelled. I was in agony. I fell to my knees. My tail fell limply to the ground.  
All I could think of was the agony! So much pain!   
Morph! I had to morph! But my mind was foggy. I tried to concentrate, but it never reached my body.  
David struck again!  
I was in so much pain. I couldn't even yell.   
Morph. I had to morph. I had to!  
I fell to my side. I could feel my brain shutting down. My hearts stopping.  
I stopped breathing. I felt paralyzed, but I could still feel the pain. It seemed farther away now.  
My hearts stopped.   
I fell into a darkness that would never lighten.  
  
Rachel...  
  
I was sitting in Jake's hospital room. Watching him.  
Of course, I wasn't human. I was a fly. Hanging on the ceiling. Marco was outside, keeping watch.  
Cassie and Tobias were out looking for Ax. He hadn't come back from feeding.  
We were beginning to worry.  
I sat on the ceiling, watching Jake intently.  
Not that I could see him very well.  
I buzzed from the ceiling, onto on of his monitors. It kept going 'blip, blip' in tune to his heart beat.   
I sat on the monitor, and watched for anything suspicious.   
I heard a moan. I listened intently. Not that I could really hear.  
Another moan.   
They were coming from Jake!  
I yelled.  
  
  
  
I thought about it for a second. __  
  
__ I said. I was determined to be there when Jake woke up. And be human when he woke up. Not a fly.  
I flew to the ground and began to demorph. Quickly.  
I grew bigger, and my balloon eyes sucked into my head. My legs shlooped into my chest, and my wings withered. I crouched down as best I could.   
My mouth and nose became human, as did my eyes.   
When I was human, I stood up. I brought a chair up against Jake's bed, and sat down. I held his hand.  
"Come on Jake. You gotta wake up," I said. I squeezed his hand. "You have to."  
His eyes fluttered but didn't open. He moaned again.  
"Come on Jake. Fearless leader," a voice said behind me. I started. Marco. He had demorphed too. "You have to wake up buddy. We need you."  
Jake's eyes fluttered again. His hand twitched.   
"Come on Jake. You can do it," I said, encouraging him.   
Suddenly Jake's eyes opened. He blinked, then looked around the room.   
"Where am I?" he croaked. He swallowed.  
"In the hospital," said Marco. "You were attacked by David."  
Jake closed his eyes. "I remember." He opened his eyes again. They were filled with rage.  
"How do you feel?" I asked him.  
"Horrible. David sliced me up pretty good." He blinked his eyes. "How have you guys been holding up? How long have I been out?"  
"You've been out for about three days. We're doing okay. So far. David hasn't killed any of us yet. That's good." Marco closed his eyes. He smiled faintly.  
"He's already gone after Marco, and Tobias," I said softly. "Tobias is fine. They are looking for Ax. He didn't come back from feeding."  
Jake narrowed his eyes. He tried to sit up. I pushed him back down. "You have to rest. A little while longer, then you can morph. Help us with David."  
Jake frowned, but nodded his head. "Okay. But I am so totally not going to sit this out. I am going to get him."  
I sighed softly. "We're just glad that you are okay. Cassie will be ecstatic."  
Jake smiled, then closed his eyes. "I guess I better get some sleep," he said groggily. I nodded my head.   
He fell asleep.   
I looked at Marco. He was smiling, but it was not a happy smile.   
"What?" I asked him.  
"Well, Ax isn't here. That worries me majorily. Ax is never late. Jake's awake, that's good, but he isn't up to anything yet." He shrugged. "I just have a bad feeling over all this."  
I nodded. "Me too."  
  
Cassie...  
  
I was in the woods. As a wolf.  
Tobias was overhead, using his eyes. I was using my nose.   
So far neither of us had been able to find a clue about Ax. No scent. No sign. Nothing.  
  
  
  
He broke off, and I began to run.  
I really didn't want to kill David. I didn't want to kill anyone.   
But he was giving us no choice.  
I kept running, hoping to catch Ax's scent.   
Why couldn't David just go away. Leave us alone?  
Why couldn't he-  
I stopped. A scent! Ax's scent!   
I called. No answer.   
He was out of range.  
I ran, following Ax's scent.  
It lead to a small meadow, with a stream.   
It smelled bad. Like death.   
I walked cautiously into the meadow.   
I sniffed. Looked around. I could smell Ax clearly.   
And I could smell that I snake had been here.  
I called.  No answer.  
That's when I saw him.   
He was lying on his side. Next to the stream.   
I ran up to him. Before I even got up to him, I knew he was dead.   
Gone.  
I cried.  I began to demorph.  
When I was fully demorphed, I kneeled over his body.   
I could clearly see the snake bites. Four of them.   
I didn't know what kind of snake. It had to be very deadly though to take down an Andalite. Without him being able to use his tail.  
"Oh Ax," I said. I was crying.   
I never heard the footsteps behind me.  
"Hello Cassie," said a voice behind me.  
I whirled around. David! How had I not smelled him?!   
He punched me, and I fell back, stunned. He picked me up, and slung me over his shoulder.  
He took me over to the edge of the meadow. In the shadows.   
"Let me GO!" I screamed. I wished Tobias were there.   
I began to morph.  
"Uh-uh-uh. That's naughty Cassie." He threw me against the ground. "Demorph, or I kill you now."  
"You'll kill me anyway," I said. Bravely surprisingly enough.  
He shrugged. "Yeah. But I'll make it less painful. It was your fault I was trapped as a rat."  
I raised an eyebrow. I had stopped morphing. I didn't demorph though. "How do you know? We never told you."  
"It could only have been you. Your the only one who 'understands peoples thoughts and feeling. What they are going to do.'" He grinned maliciously. He punched me in the stomach. "Demorph now!" he yelled.  
I shrugged gasping for breath. "Fine," I said. I began to demorph. I would morph later.   
Maybe Tobias would come. Anyway, I didn't want to kill him.  
He took out some rope. "You know that isn't going to work on me," I said. "I could morph anytime."   
"Yeah, I know. But you aren't going to." He grinned and began to tie my hands.  
"And why am I not?"  
He shrugged. "I don't know. But I know you won't. You don't want to kill me. And that's what you would have to do."  
I grimaced. He was right. I could morph, and fly away, but then I would be leaving him to potentially get the others. I couldn't do that.   
He finished tying up my hands. He didn't tie my legs up though.  
"What are you going to do?" I asked quietly.   
"Oh, I am going to have some fun before I kill you."  
"Tobias will come," I said calmly. I only hoped he would.  
"So? I'll just kill him too."  
"Your a bit cocky aren't you."  
"No, I'm insane. There's a difference." He laughed to demonstrate it.   
I shook my head. "How did you get out of being a rat?" I had to keep him talking.  
"This dude named the Crayak. Basically he said that if he gives me back my powers and such, I had to kill everyone except Rachel. And not tell the Yeerks. It really sucks though. I reeeally want to kill Rachel."  
I thought to myself. So it had been the Crayak. He wanted us dead. That was nothing new. But he wanted Rachel alive. Why?  
David began to undress. "What are you doing?"  
He just grinned and undressed the rest of the way. Until he was naked. I cringed.  
Then I knew. I knew what he was going to do.  
He was going to rape me.  
  
Tobias...  
  
I was flying, looking for Ax.   
I was really worried. Ax is never late. At least not like this.  
I kept scanning the ground. No sign of him.  
Me and Ax are close friends. Shorms he calls it.   
I kept looking at the ground. A herd of deer. A black bear. No Ax. No Andalite.  
I decided to head quickly to the hospital. Maybe he was there. Maybe we had missed him.  
I arrived at the hospital. I knew that Marco and Rachel were keeping watch.   
I asked.  
"No," said Rachel. I saw her sitting on a chair in the room. Demorphed. Marco was beside her.  
I sighed. Then I asked,  I landed on the window sill.  
"Because Jake woke up," said Marco.   
I asked excitedly.  
"Yep. After he gets some rest we are going to hunt down David." Rachel's eyes were narrowed.  
"You haven't found Ax then," Marco said, making it a statement.  
I sighed again.  I jumped from the sill.  
I was even more worried now.  
  
Cassie...  
  
I had been raped! Raped!  
I was disgusted. This was not right!   
I lay on the ground. David had dressed again. He seemed very pleased with himself.  
Me, I was still crying from the pain and fear.  
I will not delve into what he did. It is too painful.   
David grinned. "Gee, that was great wasn't it Cassie?"  
I sneered at him. I no longer had any qualms about killing him. Now I hated him. But I still didn't morph. I still hoped that Tobias would show up. Even if I was still mainly naked.  
David stood up. He bent down into the grass, and picked up a knife. I hadn't noticed it before.  
"What, are you going to do the same with me as you did Marco?" I sneered at him. I was so mad. So disgusted. "Is that the best you can do?"  
"Oh no. I am not going to be that nice. Do you know how to skin an animal Cassie?"  
I blinked. Of course I did. But I know knew what he was going to do to me.   
He was going to skin me alive!  
"No," I whispered. "You can't!"  
He laughed insanely. "Of course I can!" He caressed my cheek. "Now you get to know what the animal feels like."  
I didn't say anything.   
He began to skin me.  
That's when the screaming began.  
And that's when I fell into darkness.  
  
I woke up. I didn't know how, or why.   
I was in agony! Such agony as I had never felt before!  
I looked at myself. No skin. It was in a pile next to me.   
I could see my muscles! My bones!  
"Aaaaaaaaaaah!" I screamed again and again.  
David sat there, smiling, listening to my screams.   
I was in to much pain to morph. To much pain to do anything.  
I don't know how long I sat there and screamed. I do know that my voice was hoarse, and that I kept spitting up blood.  
Blood. It was running off me! Leaves, grass, and other things stuck to me. Made me feel more agony.  
David finally stood up. "Okay, I've had enough of your screams."   
I watched wide eyed as he plunged the knife into my chest.  
My heart.  
I could feel nothing. It was blissful. No pain. Nothing.  
Darkness came and took me away.  
  
Tobias...  
  
I decided to look for Cassie.   
I had been flying alone, looking for Ax for a couple of hours.   
Hopefully she had remembered to demorph and remorph.  
I soared towards where she would be.   
I flew fast, not wanting to waste time.  
I always looked at the small meadows that dotted the forest.  
I saw one. I was drawn to it.   
I flew over it.   
I saw him immediately. I saw Ax.  
Or at least Ax's body.   
"Tssseeeeeeer!" I screamed and dived down towards him.  I yelled. No answer.  
I didn't expect one.  
I knew he was dead. Dead. I landed next to his body.  
Snake bites. _ I cried.    
Ax was dead. First one of us down. And it had been David. I knew it was.  
I couldn't cry. At least not right now.  I called out. No answer.   
Maybe she hadn't found this yet. Maybe she bypassed this.  
But Cassie had been a wolf. She would have smelled him.   
Where was Cassie?  
I suddenly had a sinking feeling.  I called out again.  
I jumped into the air, and caught a slight head wind. I rose me to tree top level.  
I scanned the meadow.   
There. Deep in the shadow. Something glinted.   
I couldn't see in there. It was dark. Over grown.   
I dived towards it.   
As I grew closer, I saw more. More.   
I screamed. I saw Cassie's body. At least I think it was her body.  
Her skin was gone. Piled next to her. I could clearly see her muscles and bones. Her ligaments and tendons.  
She had been skinned. Alive by what it looked like.   
David!   
Then suddenly, I saw a picture. I don't know how. Or why.   
I saw her being raped, then skinned. Alive.   
I could hear her scream. Scream over and over.   
I had to get away from there! Had to get away!  
I jumped into the air. Caught a head wind. I called down to David. Should he be nearby.  
_  
I flew to tell the others.  
  
Marco...  
  
I was sitting in Jake's hospital room. So was Rachel.   
Jake was awake again. He said that he was ready to morph.   
"I don't know if you should Jake," I said.   
I was worried. Neither Tobias or Cassie or Ax had come by in a couple of hours.   
"Of course I should. We have to stop David. So far we have been lucky. Especially me and you." He sighed. "So far none of us are dead. I want to keep it that way."  
"And you don't think we do," said Rachel. "But you need to rest. Jeez." She rolled her eyes. "If you are to weak to do anything, then what help are you going to be?"  
Jake frowned. "I'm strong enough. Anyway, morphing will restore my body. Make it whole again. I hope."  
"I know Jake," I said. I sighed. I looked at Rachel. "Fine. Morph. Let's just hope that you are strong enough to fight."  
Jake smiled weakly. Rachel looked disgusted. Well maybe not disgusted. Maybe she was worried.  
The doctors had come in a couple of times. They were surprised that Jake was up. They were so surprised that they never told us to leave.   
Okay, maybe they didn't, but we left, morphed, and came back. We demorphed when Jake woke up again.  
I was about to say something when I heard the fluttering of wings at the window.  
I turned around.  
"Tobias?" Rachel said.   
I was surprised. Tobias looked ragged. He was breathing hard, in short gasps.   
"Tobias, what's wrong?" Rachel asked him.  
Tobias didn't say anything. He looked at Jake. Then Rachel. Then me.   
"What?" I said. I was getting annoyed. Maybe that was because I was way worried.   
  
"What? Who?"  
  
"No," Rachel said. "They can't be."  
Tobias flopped weakly to the ground. He fluttered weakly.   
He sounded so emotionless. So gone.   
Jake was sitting up in bed. "They're dead? How could he have gotten both of them?"  
I blinked. I was surprised. Jake wasn't crying. He was acting as the leader. He'd grieve later, I knew. He'd grieve a lot.  
I couldn't think of anything to say. Both Ax and Cassie were dead. Gone.  
__ Tobias shuddered.   
Rachel was crying. Her lips were pressed tight together, and tears were running down her cheeks. "Show me," she said. "Show me their bodies."  
Tobias shuddered again.   
"Show me," Rachel growled. She began to morph.   
I glanced at Jake. He climbed out of bed, and began to morph too. I sighed.   
Gone. Both Ax and Cassie. Killed by the bastard named David.   
I began to morph my osprey.   
When we were finished, we jumped out of the window, Tobias leading us to Cassie and Ax.  
  
Jake...  
  
We flew. I had to be careful to stay behind Tobias. I was the fastest of us, but I didn't know the way.  
Cassie was gone. In just a few words, my life had changed. Again.  
Cassie. We had liked each other. We had even kissed. But now she was gone. No longer would I be able to enjoy talking to her. Listen to her advice. Enjoy her kisses.  
Ax, too, was gone. No Andalite to call me Prince. Another friend lost. All because David wanted revenge. Ax, one of my closest friends, killed because of him.  
I had to keep my emotions in check. Marco knew what I was feeling. I wasn't sure of what Rachel thought. Of course, she had just lost her best friend.  
I couldn't grieve right now. I had to be the leader of the Animorphs.  
Later I would cry. Later. Always later.  
We were over the woods now. Small patches of clearing stood out like sore thumbs.   
I realized Tobias was talking. <...found them in a clearing. I-I really don't want to see them again. When we get there, I am going to peel off.>  
Tobias didn't want to see their bodies again. Were they that bad? How mutilated were they?  
I said.   
Tobias dipped.  he said.    
I used my peregrine speed then. I dived, and quickly became the leader of the group.  
I dived down near to 150 miles per hour.   
I could see Ax's body. I could see the snake bites. From up here.  
I scanned around for Cassie.  
A glint. Of something metal.   
I turned towards it.   
Then I saw Cassie.   
I cried out. This was so much worse than what I had imagined! _  
I landed. Rachel landed next to me. She said nothing.   
I began to demorph. So did Rachel.  
When finished, I kneeled next to her body. Or what remained of it.   
I glanced at her skin that was piled next to her. I shuddered.  
I realized that there were tears running down my cheeks.   
Heedless of the blood, I picked up her body.   
I carried it out into the clearing.   
I set her down, and kneeled next to her again.  
Suddenly Rachel screamed. I looked behind me.  
A lion! He was raking Rachel with his claws.   
Rachel began to morph.  
David looked up, and drew back his muzzle.   
He ran at me.   
I began to morph my tiger. But it would be too late. To late for me to morph.   
A whirl of black shaggy fur out of the corner of my eye.  
Marco came out, and punched David in the chest.   
David flew about twenty feet, but was up on his feet in an instant. He ran for Marco.  
called Marco.  
I looked at Rachel. She was about half morphed into grizzly bear. I wasn't even half morphed.  
David ran at Marco with the grace and liquidity of a cat. Marco's morph was slower, but powerful. Very powerful.  
David jumped at Marco, and landed on him, his claws out. He began to tear at Marco.   
he yelled. He pushed David away, and got to his feet. David came back at him.   
Marco punched him in the head. David fell to the ground, stunned.   
Rachel had finished her grizzly morph. She charged at David.  
_ she screamed.  
I was mostly tiger.   
David stood up, shaking his lion head.   
I finished my tiger morph. Rachel hit him hard.   
"Hhhhhroooooaaar!" roared Rachel. She and David hit. Fur went flying. So did blood.  
David was quick, but he didn't have the strength of the grizzly.   
Rachel hit him hard enough to send him flying.   
"RROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAR" I roared. I charged at him.  
Both of us were cats. Both of us were cat quick. But David had the advantage of a mane. I didn't.  
One on one, David would win. But we weren't one on one.   
I struck David with one of my pan sized paws.   
He bared his teeth, and jumped at me. I jumped at him.  
For a second we were both just trying to bite and claw at the vital parts.  
Then Rachel came up. She landed on top of David, and began to tear at him.  
I came from underneath, and tore at his stomach.  
David yelled.   
We kept at it. We couldn't let David live.   
Rachel hit him, and knocked him into a tree. I could hear the breaking of bones.  
I drew back my muzzle and ran at him.  
David tried to stand up, but yelled in pain. His back legs were dragging.  
Rachel came up beside me.   
__ I said grimly.   
said Rachel. __ She charged at David, and hit him in the back of the neck.  
There was a distinct snapping sound. David fell limply to the ground, never to get up.  
Rachel said. She sounded disgusted. With herself or David, I didn't know.  
I began to demorph. I was so tired. Still weak.   
Marco was already demorphed and kneeling next to Cassie's body.   
He was crying. But of course, so were me and Rachel.  
  
  
Rachel...  
  
We buried Ax that day. We didn't know what to do with Cassie's body.   
In the end, we buried her too. We didn't know what else to do. We couldn't take her body back to her parents.   
So we buried them both. All of us cried. Even Tobias, who had morphed his human self.   
He was mad at himself too. He had missed the fight. He felt that he should have been there.   
I told him that it was better that he wasn't.  
David's body we left there for the crows and ravens and whatever to eat. He didn't deserved to be buried.  
When we were done, we left the clearing.   
Jake went back to the hospital. Of course they had noticed he was gone, and when he suddenly came back, healed, the doctors were ecstatic.  
Me, I went home and cried. I don't know how long I cried.  
Marco went home too. I don't know what he did. Maybe he cried. Maybe he laughed. I doubt it was the latter.  
When Jake came home, we all had a meeting in Tobias's meadow.  
We made a promise to visit Cassie's and Ax's grave at least once a month. Probably more.   
We were minus two Animorphs.  
But still we fought.  
We fought to save a world. With people like Cassie in it.  
And people like David....  
  
(c) Morph53@aol.com _


End file.
